xvolution Member

Our local stores have little flavor packs made for 16.9oz water bottles, several of them formulated to provide energy boosts. This is what I tend to use as a pick-me-up [I often use Kroger's store brand energy blend, which has the same stuff as a typical pre-workout minus the creatine and l-arganine]. If I need a super…

Chicken stir fry with lots of veggies, with some coconut rice.

If you can find the supplies for the Soda Stream. I have a Soda Stream myself, but none of the stores here carry the CO2 tanks or the flavors for Soda Streams anymore. It seems to be slowly dying out.

I'd say weigh yourself, but also take body measurements with a body tape measure or a cloth tape measure. I'm willing to bet that after three months your measurements will at least be a bit smaller.

My mom loves cabbage soup, though she's very simplistic with how she makes it. Usually she just adds diced jalapeno peppers to it, a little salt and some pepper, then leaves the rest of the flavoring options to the ones grabbing a bowl [I usually add red pepper flakes to mine]. Do note however that cabbage is high in…

When I started the path to being healthy, I maxed out at 376 pounds. After 7 months of work I recently broke the 300 mark [at 298 currently]. If I can do it, then so can you. EDIT: That's what I get for only reading the first page. Congrats on losing so much already.

I usually get one or two whenever I go grocery shopping. There's nothing wrong with them, unless you have an aversion to sucralose [it's the artificial sweetener used in them]. And sweetener used. Sprite Zero is sweetened by aspartame, and Sparkling ICE [as I mentioned] is sweetened by sucralose. Though there's nothing…

A few slices of low-sodium pizza. It's seasoned with basil, oregano and minced garlic instead of salt.

Unfortunately no, but most members are willing to share recipes if you just ask for them.

If I drink anything with calories, I add it to my diary like any other food and deduct the calories as usual. I usually only drink sugary things after work anyways [when my blood sugar tends to crash and needs a boost].

Probably should have added "and takes up less space". Sorry about that.

Just drink until you don't feel thirsty anymore. You get water from other sources of food/fluids throughout the day, so you're probably getting enough water without realizing it.

I drink flavored carbonated water quite often. If this was true, I'd still be around 325 pounds right now [currently 298]. The only way it could cause any kind of weight gain is through water weight, and even plain water does that. I'm partial to Sparkling ICE and the Kroger brand sparkling waters myself.

Isolate tends to be much more expensive than just whey, and the last one I tried had a very off-tasting vanilla flavor. The only real reasons you'd prefer isolate over whey is if you're trying to get a pure protein source without the excess phosphates and potassium usually found in whey/milk, or if you're…

I wouldn't really call it an indulgence since I often work it into my diary when I have it, but sushi. Though when I have it, I usually toss out the soy sauce packet that comes with it [cuts around 700mg sodium that way].

You can always add flavorings to a protein shake to make it less boring. I usually mix EAS vanilla whey with a bit of Crush orange water flavoring to make an orange creamcicle flavored shake.

Fruit and veggie prices tend to fluctuate around which items are in season at the time. Like right now. watermelon is fairly cheap as the growing season for it is ending and there's a rush to get rid of the surplus before it goes bad. It's not really expensive to eat healthy, as long as you look for deals and base your…

I saw your accidental comment in another topic and hunted this down. The reason tangerines are allowed and oranges aren't is because oranges are high in potassium, while tangerines are not.

Generally the established 8x8 rule [8 8oz glasses] works best for most [that's about 2 liters]. There's no need to drink more than that, unless you're still thirsty after that 2 liters and don't have an underlying medical condition.

What motivates me is remembering how painful it is to wear a foley for three weeks in the hospital. Not going through that kind of pain again can be a very strong motivator.

As long as you work it into your daily calorie counts, sweets are fine. I usually have something sweet after work [usually a sugary juice or soda] since my blood sugars are usually in the hypoglycemic range around that time [new job + shot adjustments are a lot of fun].

Usually both [carbs for an initial burst of energy, protein to feel full longer].

There's nothing wrong with them. I use them quite often myself, though I'm very sensitive to sweets taste-wise so I further dilute mine [like using one pack made for 16.9 oz in a liter/32oz bottle of water]. I don't really count mine, as the ones I get usually are very low in calories [usually 2-3 per cup and I always try…

I think the general assumption is that if you stray from your diet/change of eating habits, then your body will change to compensate. Sometimes for the worse. You can pretty much fill in the blank of "If you go _____ to lose weight, you have to eat like that forever" with most diets out there, according to the general…

I usually add mine, but then I don't eat back the calories gained from lifting either.

For me it was partially due to kidney disease [at Stage 3 atm] and high blood pressure. In your case though it's most likely poor circulation in the legs [the water can't escape the legs after being pumped there and gets stored instead]. If that's the cause, then a good pair of compression socks/sleeves should help a lot.…

Well, for one thing the whey is removed from greek yogurt, so people sensitive to whey can actually eat greek yogurt without issue.

Try a mix of cottage cheese, fruit-flavored greek yogurt and lemon juice. I usually mix 1/2 cup of the cottage, 1/2 cup of the greek yogurt and 1 tsp lemon juice [enhances the flavor]. I get about 26g protein each morning from this. If you're watching fat and salt intake, the flavors from the greek yogurt and lemon juice…

Oven-fried whitefish, mexican-style corn [drained and rinsed] and sliced peaches.

Whenever I go out to our local chinese/japanese buffet [they have a nice sushi bar], I usually get one of each kind they have [16 small pieces, so roughly 2 rolls], then base the calories on their AFC equivalent. AFC is a sushi packaging company that sells at supermarkets, and the nutritional information for them is in…